The continuing search for oil and gas resources has led to exploration, drilling and production in a variety of offshore locations, some of which may involve travel by a vessel through waterways having size constraints which preclude the passage of typical monohull vessels. Ships, vessels, and offshore platforms which are too large to be practically towed or transported to these offshore locations have been assembled at the offshore destination site from multiple sub-assemblies which are separately towed or otherwise transported to the offshore destination site. However, these structures are not suitable substitutes for monohull vessels for various reasons, including economic ones.
Split hull ships, such as split hopper dredge ships, have been built and used for dredging operations. In such ships, the purpose of the split hull is not to facilitate transport through waterways which otherwise would restrict the size of the ship, but instead is intended to enable the ship to be filled during dredging operations, and the contents then "dumped" at a remote location. Split hopper dredge ships usually have deck hinges and bottom hydraulic jacks which permit controlled opening and closing of the hull at the bottom in "clamshell" fashion. Examples of split hopper dredge ships include the "Vlaanderen XX" operated by the Belgian company Baggerwerken Decloedt en Zoo N.V.